


Star-crossed lovers

by ShinMeiko



Series: What if multiverse [4]
Category: Love Simon (2018), Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli, Simonverse | Creekwood Series - Becky Albertalli
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-20 10:02:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18990439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinMeiko/pseuds/ShinMeiko
Summary: Bram's father confronts them about wanting to be together.Sequel to 'Chapter 14 - What if the story took place in space?' in my 'what if' series.





	Star-crossed lovers

My tablet flashes as a sound resonates through my cabin. My parents aren’t home right now, Nora is probably with Leah, and Alice moved in with Theo already. So I close my open tabs on my interactive wall and go open the door.

I have never met the man standing in front of my door, but I know him. Not just because you sort of know everybody on board, but because he has an important role. I don’t know his official job title, but I know he is nicknamed ‘Keeper of the Arts’. He is basically making sure that all the knowledge we have about the arts from Earth, from the human race, stay alive and accurate. Some people say that his job isn’t as important as the people in charge of the sciences, but I don’t know if I believe that. If we lose all the arts, if we become a soulless species, what’s even the point in perpetuating it?

I know him for another reason. He is Bram’s father.

I sort of freeze. I have no idea what he’s doing here. I don’t even know if he is in contact with Bram.

“Mr. Greenfeld.”

“Are you Simon Spier?”

“I am, yes.”

“Could we talk?”

“Sure.”

I let him in, and the door slides back shut behind him. I’m not entirely sure what the social etiquette should be right now. If we were a heterosexual couple, there would be an official meeting with the parents at some point. Not that Bram’s father would be involved now that he disowned Bram.

Mr. Greenfeld is looking around the room. He stops for a second to look at pictures of my family in the living room interactive wall. I know he is planning to have another child with his current wife. He would then have three children too. He used the law. It will be legal. He will still be judged for it. Not as much as his third child, though. I know things are tough for Nora, sometimes.

Our society doesn’t like what doesn’t fit the pattern.

Mr. Greenfeld eyes come back to me. There is nothing warm in them. He looks at me like I’m a problem to solve.

“So it’s you,” he comments coldly.

I could pretend I don’t know what he means, but it would be insulting both our intelligence. “It’s me.”

“Let’s not beat around the bush. What is it going to take?”

“I’m sorry?”

“For you to stay away from my son.”

I really shouldn’t be surprised. Yet, I am.

“What do you mean?”

“I have some power on this ship. Even more so than your father. I heard you would like to pursue a career in performing arts. You know how hard that is. We don’t have enough minds to entertain and more crucial jobs to be fulfilled. But I can make that happen for you. If you stay away from Bram.”

“Mr. Greenfeld… I would very much like to pursue a career in performing art. But I want to earn it. Also… I’m seventeen. I know that once I finish my education, my mindset on a career might be different.”

“Fine. I respect that. What do you want, then?”

“I want Bram.”

“You can’t have him. I won’t let you.”

Part of him right now is really threatening. But I’m not scared. If anything, I’m more decided than ever. I knew this was going to be our life from now on. As a matter of fact, I am grateful for this. I was nervous about our future until now. Now, I know that those attacks will feel small and irrelevant compared to how I feel when Bram is in the room.

“Mr. Greenfeld, with all due respect, it is not your decision. It’s Bram’s. And he chose me. Don’t think it was a spur of the moment decision. You don’t take that kind of decision lightly. Trust me. I’ve been there. If Bram wants a different life, of course, I’ll let him go. But as things are now, I’ll stand by his side every step of the way.”

“Do you really want to go against me? I can make your life really difficult.”

“I’m gay, Mr. Greenfeld. My life is already really difficult. You also need to understand that I am not the issue here. Let’s assume that you get rid of me somehow. It still won’t make Bram marry a woman. He will end up with another man. Or alone. But he won’t marry.”

“You don’t know that. You’re not giving him a chance to make the right decision.”

“The right decision? He won’t be happy in a traditional marriage.”

“So what? It’s not about being happy. It’s about being a member of society. Yes, I would rather have my son stay a bachelor or be in a phony marriage than being an outcast.”

“Sure. And how did that work out for you?”

A shadow passes on his face and, for a second, I’m afraid he’s going to punch me. But he doesn’t. Instead, he talks to me more openly than I thought he ever would.

“You’re right. I know all about unhappy marriages. But you know what? If I had been more careful, if I hadn’t gotten my mistress pregnant, I would still be with Bram’s mother now. I don’t love her with all my heart, but I don’t dislike her. Living with her was easy. She is a wonderful woman. And leaving her made all of our lives worse. Hers, mine, Bram’s, my pregnant wife’s, my unborn children’s… Let me present things in a cruder way. Find someone you like. A girl. Marry her. Make her babies. Be part of the chain. You can still love Bram all you want. You can still be with him. Just not in public. The good thing for the two of you is that you can’t get pregnant from your… indiscretions.”

Right now, I remember Leah asking me if we should get married. Leah who has the same secret I do. We talked about it. About having a public life, and a private life. It wouldn’t be the worst, life, I think. Bram would still be there. Things would be easier. But we also know that people would talk. The truth always gets out, doesn’t it? If I am going to be a gossip, I want to own that narrative.

I want to live my life proud of the man I share a bed with. I want that for Leah too. And Nora.

I want to be a part of history. I want to be one of the people who stood up to society for the right to be who you are. Not just gay, or lesbian. Also, someone who doesn’t want children. Someone who wants six. Someone who doesn’t even want to get married. Someone who wants to have multiple partners. Someone who wants a divorce. Someone who wants to get married at forty. And, sure, someone who wants to get married at nineteen, stay with that person forever, have two children. If that’s what they want.

I understand the need to control everyone’s family life. We can’t let our population grow because we don’t have the resources. We can’t let it shrink because we are here to perpetuate the humankind. We need to ensure that the genetic pool remains varied. We can’t deliver an inbred society to the new world we are traveling to. I understand all of that. But there must be ways around it. Other than dictating everyone’s life choices.

Bram and I talked about it. Our life is going to be hard. But we promised each other to find comfort in one another rather than blaming the other for it. Our families, although not entirely happy about our choice, are supportive. We’ll have Leah and Nora. We’ll have John. I’m sure we’ll have other people as we go on. And if we can change things – or even just one thing – wouldn’t that be a life worth living?

I am about to tell all of that to Mr. Greenfeld when the cabin door opens. It’s Bram. His father looks surprised. I understand why. It is very uncommon to have the access code to someone else’s cabin. I have never more surprised and happy than when my father gave our code to Bram. It was even bigger than when I found out that Bram was Blue. Because it was my father’s way of saying that he is fine with us being us, and that he supports us. It felt like the world.

“Dad?”

“Bram? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to see my boyfriend,” Bram answers. His voice is careful, like he’s not sure what he just walked into. I hope he doesn’t think his father came to give us his blessing, because I don’t want him to feel that heartbreak. I can see on his face that he doesn’t think that, though.

“Shouldn’t you be at pilot training?”

“I should, but Trevor was sick, so they sent all the students home.”

“Are you alright?” I ask, worried.

“Yeah, I’m fine. He’s fine too, he’s not even under quarantine.”

Illnesses. That’s an important battle on board. We can’t let a disease spread. We live in a closed environment. Even the air we breathe and the water we drink are recycled. If too many people get sick at the same time, the ship cannot function properly. If people get sick in turns, it can become a vicious cycle. And if the illness is serious enough to lead to death, it could be the end of everything.

Even with a cold, there is a “safety first” mindset. Always. Avoid public places, whether you are sick or have been in contact with the sick person, and there can be a quarantine of people or places. Once, a full level was quarantined for a week.

Simon believes Bram when he says he’s fine. No one really lies about being ill, for obvious reasons. But also, if he thought he might be ill or contagious, he wouldn’t have come to Simon, he would have gone home instead.

“Why are you here, Dad?”

“I came to discuss your future with Simon.”

Bram sighs. “Do you mean that you came to try to bully my boyfriend into a heteronormative life?”

“Son, it’s not like that.”

“Don’t call me ‘son’. But I guess that’s my bad. I shouldn’t call you ‘dad’ either.”

“Bram…”

“What? It was your decision, wasn’t it? You don’t get to come here and try to interfere with my life anymore.”

“Bram, you are still my son.”

Bram’s face completely changes as something dawns on him. “Oh, I see. You don’t really care about me, do you? You care about _what I do_. Because even if you have a new family, in people’s minds, I am still your elder son. You don’t care about how any of this will affect _me_. You care about how it will affect _you_.”

“Bram… This is an impossible situation, but there is a way out of it. You need to start making sensible decisions and choices now. For everyone’s future.”

Bram nods. “You’re right.”

Wait, what?

“I need to make the best decision for everyone. Dating Simon is a terrible decision if we see it from your perspective. But it’s the right thing to do for me, for him, for… other people we know, and for the next generation.”

“The next generation? There won’t be a next generation if everyone starts making selfish decisions. You are being selfish, Bram. It’s not about personal development.”

“Then what’s the point of life, Dad?”

The room gets really silent for a minute. The only thing we can hear is the ventilation system, gently humming as it renews the air in the cabin.

“Tell me that, and I’ll let go,” Bram promises. “What’s the point of being alive if it’s not personal development? Being happy, being better, being curious, being open… Just… _being_? You, who is the keeper of arts, who lives for what’s beautiful but not necessarily useful… tell me that. Tell me how duty truly is more important than happiness.”

Bram’s father looks confused for a moment. Like Bram made the one point he doesn’t know how to refute.

I have become a spectator in that conversation, but I think Bram needed to confront his father at some point. If all I can do is stand by him while this is happening, then that’s what I’ll do.

“I’m in love, Dad. And that feels more important than all the rest.”

“Love doesn’t always last.”

“I know that. Trust me, I do. But I also know it can last. You should try.”

“Try what?”

“Love. I don’t know if you loved Mom and it didn’t last, or if the feelings were just never there. But you should try to love that woman you got pregnant. Do you realize that’s always how you refer to her? ‘My pregnant wife’. I don’t know her, but I assume that, as a person, she is more than just pregnant. That’s her current condition. That’s not who she is. How are you going to refer to her when the baby is there? As the mother of your child? How does that make her a different person than Mom, then?”

I really want to touch Bram. Take his hand. Rub his shoulder. _Something_. Make that tension in his voice disappear.

“It’s too late anyway,” Bram says.

“What do you mean, ‘too late’?” his father asks.

“I have submitted a marriage application.”

“You did?” I ask. I thought I would let Bram deal with his father, but I can’t let this piece of information slide. It isn’t a total surprise. We talked about it. I knew he was going to do that. I just didn’t know he would do it that soon.

Bram smiles at me and nods. My heart swells. Before emailing Blue, I was convinced that love was going to be the one thing that would never be in my life. Then, I found love, but I thought I wouldn’t be able to live it. And now Bram. It doesn’t matter if everything goes horribly wrong after that. It will still have been worth it. Just for what I’m feeling now.

We know our request is going to be denied. We might be the first couple ever to sign up for a same sex marriage on board. John even told us that he never crossed his mind to try to officially marry Charlie. We wanted to try anyway. We wanted an official trace somewhere that we exist as a couple.

Which means that starting tomorrow, we will be the first officially outed couple in the history of the Nautilus.

“You just ruined your life,” Bram’s father says.

“Maybe,” Bram admits. “But it’s better than letting others ruin it for me.”

“So this is, then?” Mr. Greenfeld looks beat down. Like he’s lost everything.

“You should be happier about this, Dad. It will save your third child. He won’t be considered the one you shouldn’t have fathered after this.”

Bram’s father opens his mouth to answer, but then doesn’t. They both just stare at one another. It feels terrible. It feels like the end of something. Bram hadn’t spoken to his father since a few weeks before being disowned. Since before the divorce, probably. This is a terrible way to restart dialogue, and it didn’t go well. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t talk in years after this.

After what feels like an eternity, his father nods, still looking defeated, and walks away. He opens the door but doesn’t leave straight away. First, he turns around and says: “I made mistakes. With your mother, with you, with my pr… with my wife. I made decisions I shouldn’t have. Which is what I strongly believe you’re doing right now. But in spite of all of that, in spite of what will come out of this situation… There is one thing I never thought of. One thing that will never ever cross my mind. And that’s that shouldn’t have fathered you. It doesn’t matter what the paperwork says, or even if you spend the rest of your life resenting me. You will always be my firstborn. You’re my son, and I love you. Even if you can’t see it and I don’t know how to show it.” And then he leaves.

As soon as the door is shut again, I’m hugging Bram. He’s holding onto me like I’m the only thing keeping him from floating away through space.

It takes a few minutes, but then I can feel him relax in my arms.

“Bram?”

“Can we please not talk about it? Not today, I mean.”

“Sure. Anything you need.”

He lets go of me slightly, just enough to kiss me. “I needed that,” he whispers.

I smile and brush my thumbs against his cheek. “So… you petitioned us for marriage, huh?”

He smiles and lets go of me. He goes to the kitchen to get a glass of water. I could still see and hear him from here, but I follow him anyway. The closer he is, the better I feel.

“We said I would do it, and I was at the Administration desk today to sign on some documents legally detaching me from my father, if you can believe the timing. So I thought I should make the most of it and turn an unpleasant memory into a good one.”

“You should have told me about the form. I would have gone with you.”

“Don’t worry. It’s just making official a reality that already existed. And Garrett was there.”

Garrett… Simon doesn’t really spend that much time with him, even now that he is dating Bram more or less openly, but he knows he owes him that much. He was the first person Bram came out to, and he was the one to put them in contact with John. Without him, they might still be hiding behind aliases.

“How did it go? The marriage form, I mean.”

“The lady didn’t want to take it. She said there was a mistake on it. Garrett took his most professional face to ask her what she meant. She said that she could only take it if there were the name of a boy and a girl. He asked her to show him the law that said that. Of course, she couldn’t because there isn’t one. They never thought they would need it. So she had to take the form. But I’m pretty sure she won’t come back to us with a positive response.”

“Can you imagine if that’s our legacy? Having a new homophobic law that didn’t even exist before?”

Bram laughs at loud. “That would be pretty bad, wouldn’t it?” Then he gets lost in his thoughts for a minute. He always looks so cute when he’s thinking. His face just… changes. It’s quite fascinating to witness, actually.

“It was still a good day,” he says suddenly.

“What?”

“Even all that stuff with my dad, and training being canceled, and maybe triggering a law that no one needs… It’s still the day we came out to the world. It’s the day we tried to start a wedding process. It’s the day we tell the world that we have no doubt whatsoever about being in love with each other. It’s still a good day.”

“It’s the best day,” I agree, and that gets rid of all the clouds left on his face.

“I don’t think training being canceled counts as a bad thing, though,” I add.

“Oh no?”

“Nope?”

“And why is that?” he asks. But I can see his mischievous eyes looking back at me, and I know he perfectly understands where my mind is going.

“Well, I don’t know. But I’m sure we could find another productive way to occupy your afternoon.”

Bram’s lips are suddenly on my neck. “Is that the sort of thing you had in mind?”

“It’s certainly a good start,” I hum.

“When do your parents come back?”

“We should have a couple of hours.”

His eyes lit up with mischief and he drags me to my bedroom. There is at least one thing his father got right today. We do not have to worry about getting pregnant.

 

 


End file.
